


Apex Predator

by aidyr



Category: Hololive, Virtual Streamer Animated Characters
Genre: AMESAME TIME, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety, Explicit Language, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Blood, Romance, Some Humor, calli and ina mentioned, sametori brotp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:27:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28149075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aidyr/pseuds/aidyr
Summary: “Are you okay…?”Gura breathed and tried hard to find the words. As nuanced as she wanted her response to be however, she couldn’t physically muster anything more complex than a simple “N-no.”Kiara sighed. “Okay… Well, you should know I’ve told our friends about this uh… episode.”Great.“Calli and Ina will likely want the details later. And I still have some questions. But for now, Ame is on her way.”
Relationships: Gawr Gura/Watson Amelia (hololive)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 317





	Apex Predator

**Author's Note:**

> ANOTHER AMESAME FIC

Between the deafening sound of her heartbeat and the white noise which crept around and encompassed her senses, Gura found herself briefly wondering who, if not Calli, had just swept this creature’s poor soul away to the afterlife. Do deer even have souls? Do they get to cross to the other side? Those questions would’ve enamored her any other day. But it was the last thing on her mind as she stared blankly at the cervidae which lay in a bloody heap on the dirty forest floor.

She barely remembered doing it…

Cold flashes wracked her body and her tail twitched with manic distress. She didn’t want to look, she knew what she’d see, but she couldn’t help herself; upon glancing down at her hands she was unsurprised to find them soaked in crimson red.

Somehow her brain managed to short circuit in a way which simultaneously flooded her with racing, afflicting thoughts _and_ completely shut off her inner voice. She scarcely felt the tears run down her cheeks as she allowed the weight of her actions to crush the air from her lungs.

 _I didn’t mean to, I didn’t mean to, I didn’t—_ Gura’s panicked mind shouted over and over again. She should be past this, she shouldn’t need to hunt, she was a person, not a mindless beast, so why… Why had the bloodlust been so insatiable?

It hadn’t been this bad in centuries — not since Atlantis. That was different though. As a young shark, living among hundreds of thousands of sea folk, the occasional hunt was not only acceptable but expected. Being so close to her roots and surrounded by the very prey her progenitors had feasted upon daily. Of course a base, animalistic instinct would demand she find an innocent fish in the oceans depths to snack on.

That wasn’t really the point though. People sometimes ate deer, just like they ate fish. She knew that. And while she certainly felt bad for the woodland critter, the consumption of a deer in and of itself isn’t what tore up her chest and made her want to scream. 

_She hadn’t remembered doing it._  
_She couldn’t control herself._  
_She needed to hunt, to feel the rip of flesh,_  
_To smell fresh blood._

_What if she didn’t stop at deer…?_

She wanted to vomit.

“GURA—!”

The shark girl looked up with pupils the size of pinpricks and a mouth smeared with warm, slick blood. She shook. She didn’t want to be seen like this, not by… Kiara…? 

_Right,_ Gura realized, Kiara was staying the night… _Damn…_

“Gura oh gosh, kuschelhai…” Kiara stepped into view and no doubt got a lovely eyeful of deer carcass. Gura waited to be yelled at for her lack of self control, or hell, for Kiara to grab her by the collar and attempt to literally smack the predatory impulses out of her. Instead, Kiara crouched by her side with a soft sympathetic look in her eyes. The skull shaped pupils within them were a stark contrast to how beautiful and understanding Kiara’s eyes always were. “May I hug you…?” She asked carefully.

Gura, hands shaking, tears flowing, and covered in sticky red didn’t know what to say. She quietly nodded with a broken sob.

Kiara scooped her up and held her in a tight embrace. Kiara was always very, very warm. The heart of a phoenix radiated eternal fire; each beat reverberated with heat which soothed Gura’s nerves. She clawed against the fabric of Kiara’s top and buried her face as deep as she could into the comforting warmth of Kiara’s body. For once the older girl didn’t have a witty joke or a snappy comment to make. She rubbed calming circles against Gura’s back and whispered pacifying nothings. “Shh you’re okay,” she muttered as Gura cried, “we’ll figure this out.”

At some point Kiara had picked Gura up. The tiny predator was far too distraught to notice or care where they were going. Anywhere was preferable to the gruesome remains of the newly slaughtered deer. She hiccupped and groaned and fought the urge to bury her teeth in the flesh of Kiara’s shoulder.

The fact that she had that urge at all was horrifying. Even if, technically speaking, Kiara was the best candidate if she had to gorge on something more… sentient.

Kiara began to hum gently, a tune which sounded very familiar. It was pretty.

* * *

An indeterminate amount of time had passed. Gura’s tears had dried but her brain was still overrun with an incomprehensible number of worried mental howls. She passively noticed that they’d made it back to her house and that she was now resting on the couch. Kiara was still by her side, stroking her hair while seemingly unphased by the bloodstains which now muddied her clothes and fair skin. That said, she apparently had the mind to lay a blanket down on the couch. It’d be a hassle to get those stains off the furniture.

Gura’s head was limp against the firebird’s shoulder. Her attention flickered to Kiara’s hands, which were tapping away at the screen of her phone. Her eyebrows were pinched with concern and Gura just _knew_ she was spreading word of this little incident.

The typing stopped when Kiara put her phone down to look at Gura, who was curled against her side like a frightened kitten. “Gura…”

She barely managed a hum in response.

“Are you okay…?”

Gura breathed and tried hard to find the words. As nuanced as she wanted her response to be however, she couldn’t physically muster anything more complex than a simple “N-no.”

Kiara sighed. “Okay… Well, you should know I’ve told our friends about this uh… episode.”

_Great_

“Calli and Ina will likely want the details later. And I still have some questions. But for now, Ame is on her way.”

This captured Gura’s attention. The mention of Amelia kick started her brain and suddenly, she was able to protest. “What?! No! I don’t… I-I don’t want her to see… _TH-THIS-_ ” She violently tore herself away from Kiara, falling backwards and tumbling off the couch. She landed on her tail with a painful _thud_ , and proceeded to curl in on herself. Once again her body trembled.

Kiara watched without a word. Gura was sure that in Kiara’s shoes, she wouldn’t know what to say either. Even so, the phoenix got up and wrapped her arms around the shark. Comforting her in silence until the detective’s arrival.

* * *

There was a knock at the door and the sound nearly caused Gura’s heart to stop.

Kiara looked towards the noise with a hard to read expression. She turned to press a condoling kiss atop the crown of Gura’s head. “Es wird Dir gut gehen,” she mumbled with a tiny, tilted smile. She gave Gura one more affirming squeeze before leaving to go answer the door. Mere moments later Amelia was rushing into the living room with intense consternation plastered across her features; usually she was so calm and collected.

Kiara nodded towards Ame and whispered something in her ear. She then turned to Gura, offered a smile, and left the two to their devices.

Ame was, of course, the first to speak. “Are you okay?” The words sounded rushed, impatient and anxious. Like she’d been waiting to say that since she got Kiara’s text and was finally able to release the damned question before she exploded. Naturally the answer wasn't any different than when Kiara had inquired, but something about the way Ame asked gave Gura a bit of pause.

“Not really… Hehe,” she forced a little chuckle and tried to relax. A difficult task to be sure while her nerves were still shot and an all consuming sense of dread continued to overtake her.

Amelia rubbed the back of her neck and cleared her throat. She looked hesitant to say or do anything. As if she thought Gura might crumble if she so much as breathed another word. The blonde found her courage though and she was able to take a seat next to the shark girl. “I uh… I hear you… Killed a deer?”

Gura, spattered with blood, found it almost hilarious that Watson looked unsure of herself for speaking up. Thank the gods it was _only_ a deer, because Gura knew it must’ve looked like she’d just been caught on a homicidal rampage. Though, the notion that such violence was now a tangible possibility for the future was the entire catalyst for the breakdown she was having.

Even in her current state, Gura reached deep down inside herself for a joke. “What w-was your first clue, detective?” The delivery was half hearted and sad, but to lose the playful banter she and Watson shared felt like a bullet to the chest.

Ame took Gura’s effort in stride and cracked a lopsided grin. “Hah… right…” Her fingers toyed with the hem of her shirt. There was an uncharacteristic uncertainty which infested every word from her mouth. “So uh, you wanna tell me why you went catatonic over a deer?” Surely the time traveler could’ve been more tactful. "Or like, do you want me to… I dunno, go back and stop you from killing it? I doubt that would fuck the timeline up _too_ much…”

Gura shook her head. “I don’t really care about the deer.” She buried her face in her arms and fought off the waterworks which threatened to spill over once more.

Ame tilted her head like a confused puppy. “You kinda _look_ like you care.”

Gura shook her head again, more aggressively this time. Her tattered, messy hair swished around her tired, bloody face. “N-No! It’s-” she paused — what could she say? She didn’t know how to explain herself in a way that didn’t make her out to be a bloodthirsty maniac. And well, the fear of being exactly that is what brought them here in the first place. She took in a deep bout of air and steadied her voice before looking at Watson in defeat. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me.”

Amelia spoke so quickly, so snappily, and suddenly all the uncertainty in her voice had vanished. The unexpected sternness managed to shock Gura out of her stupor for a moment. She blinked, and found herself lost in Amelia’s deeply earnest eyes. “I…” Her gaze lingered on Ame’s face before dropping to her bloodied hands. “I… I don’t…”

“Hey hey, it’s okay. I’m not gonna judge you.” Ame offered a smile. She opened her arms expectantly and said with welcoming conviction, “C’mere.” 

Gura noticed a tingly warmth in her cheeks as she looked at the detective’s outstretched arms. She forced herself to ignore the way her heart skipped a beat and instead, crawled forward. She fell gracelessly into the embrace. As if a switch had been flipped, she immediately felt a tiny bit better.

“Now then,” Amelia began. She curled her fingers into Gura’s hair and played with the stained, white locks. “What’s up?”

Gura felt Ame’s shoulders hitch as an involuntary hiccup bubbled past her lips. The familiar sound was nice.

She wanted to close her eyes and drift away — to get lost in the feeling of Watson playing with her hair. “Have you ever…” Gura took a breath and buried her nose into the nape of Ame’s neck. “Have you ever uh… Done something… And not remember doing it?” She dug her nails into the back of Ame’s shirt and swallowed the anxious lump forming in her throat. “A-and you… It kinda… Like… It sorta freaks you out? That you don’t remember doing it…”

“Sooooo, what you’re saying is that you don’t remember killing the deer?” Ame asked.

Gura squinted incredulously. “Y’know, you’re being awfully nonchalant about this. Even if it was just a deer, it’s still weird as hell to find your friend hovering over the body of an animal in the dead of night.”

Amelia actually chuckled. The detective shrugged. “Gura, you’re literally a dang shark. Kiara was probably more worried about the crying than the hunting.”

Gura rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Yeah, I don’t remember… Uh…” She cringed as she recalled the animal’s shredded carcass, “hunting… it…”

Ame nodded. “Okay… Let’s try this. Why don’t you tell me what exactly the problem is. Cut the shit, y’know? Rip the band aid off.”

Gura considered this for a second and figured that, well, they had already come this far. It’d be easier for everyone if she stopped beating around the bush. “Right.” She uttered lowly into the blonde’s shoulder. If she hadn’t been so distracted by her predicament, she might’ve thought to ask about the manner in which Ame shivered as Gura’s breath tickled her neck. “God, why is this so h-hard.” She whimpered pathetically.

“I promise that whatever you’re freaking out about, we’ll sort it out together.”

There was an utter sincerity in Amelia’s voice which sent a jolt through Gura’s chest. She realized then, that she was about to confess whether she wanted to or not. It was impossible to hide anything from Ame; no way could you hide something from someone who sounded so understanding and tender. Gura screwed her eyes shut. “I-” It felt as though her heart may explode as the words collected on the tip of her tongue. She felt embarrassed and sad, angry and afraid. “I-I…” She felt sick. “I’m afraid I’m going to hurt someone —”

The silence which followed was bone chilling.

Gura now wanted to leave.

She forced herself to sit still and tried to think about anything besides the implication that she herself figured a person may take that deer’s spot in the near future. As she felt the sting of tears welling up once more, she briefly considered how dehydrated she was becoming.

An eternity and a half had gone by when the tension was cut in the least delicate way possible: Amelia laughed.

“HA—!”

Gura sat back and gawked at the woman who chuckled so easily at her reasonable distress. “Excuse me?” She barked at the time traveler, “wanna tell me why that’s so damn funny?”

It took several seconds for Watson to catch her breath. When she did, she looked semi apologetic for her inappropriate reaction. “Hah-Ha, s-sorry sorry,” she smirked from ear to ear. “I-it’s just… Is that it??”

Three of the four aforementioned feelings began to ebb, and anger sizzled within the shark girl. “The fuck do you mean _is that it_?!?” She was frankly, quite flabbergasted. “Ame! I don’t remember doing it at all! I-I was driven by some sorta weird bloodlust a-a-and—” she fumbled her words as she attempted to explain to Amelia, what she felt, was a very self explanatory fear. “Watson I could hurt someone! What if I can’t differentiate between a deer and a person next time?! What if I only care about the feeling of my teeth sinking into whatever snack I decide to chow down on?? Wh-what, what is—”

A firm hand slapped down on her lips. Promptly shutting her up.

Ame skeptically cocked a brow and tilted her head. “Okay calm down. Goodness gracious you talk a lot.” She shook her head with disbelief and gave the elder girl a soft stare. “Gura, just the fact that you’re _this_ worried about it tells me that you’d never hurt anyone. You’re such a wuss, c’mon now.” When she released Gura’s lips they stayed shut. “There we go.” Ame sighed. “We can figure something out if you’re worried about noshing on another woodland creature. But I genuinely don’t think you could ever lay a finger on a person. Not me, not the girls, not even a stranger. Not even in your most uh… I dunno, depraved shark-state.”

Gura opened her mouth, searching for the words. But nothing came. She shut her mouth, then opened it, then shut it again.

Ame leaned forward and placed a comforting hand against Gura’s face. Her thumb stroked the softness of her cheek. “You don’t look convinced.”

Gura shook her head.

“Okay well, you know I’m a time traveler? Even if you did eat somebody, I could just stop you from doing it.”

“Ame that isn’t the—”

“—that isn’t the point,” Amelia cut in. “I know, I know.” She paused to hiccup. She grimaced, presumably annoyed by the timing of it. “But still,” she went on, “I really don’t think you’d ever come close to that. You’re not a slave to your instincts.”

“Tell that to the deer…”

Amelia scoffed. “Sure. And I’ll say it to every sack a’ venison at the local butchery while I’m at it.” When no retort was given by the apex predator, Ame hastily dropped the sarcasm. “Sorry, sorry.” She moved from Gura’s cheek, down to her chin, and tilted her head upward. They locked gazes. “Listen… I’m not demeaning you. Sorry for being a smartass. I completely get why going all pred-mode would be… disconcerting for you. It’d be scary for anyone. But my point stands.”

“Your point…?”

“My point that you’re not a monster.” Amelia sounded authoritative and firm. “You aren’t going to hurt someone. You might slip into that same haze again, but even then, we can figure out a way to keep you satiated if hunting live prey bothers you. I told you we’d sort it out and we will. Okay?”

A second wave of silence passed between them, but this time, Gura’s chest was flooded by an extraordinary heat; it felt overwhelming, almost as though she’d pop under the weight of Ame’s reassurance.

Something about those words was coming through and making a difference. The walls Gura put up in the midst of her breakdown were beginning to crumble by the mighty hand of Watson’s honesty and care.

 _I’m not a monster,_ she repeated in her mind. _I’m not a monster._

The dam broke. Amelia had gotten through. There was no way she could possibly respond in any coherent manner.

So she didn’t.

Gura dove head-on into Amelia, tackling her to the floor in a powerful hug. Ame made a squeak of surprise as she was thrown backwards, Gura landing on top of her with a soft _pomf._ Gura could feel the heat radiating off the detective’s face and body as she nuzzled into her, and really, her heart was leaping at the close proximity. But she didn’t care. She hadn’t the words to properly thank the time traveler, so her actions would need to speak for her. Her tail coiled limply around Ame’s leg and she nestled into her chest.

For the first time that night, the tears shed were indicative of something good.

* * *

A week had come and gone since then.

Kiara was called back in after the heart-to-heart and the three stayed up watching movies. The taller two women were profusely affectionate towards Gura for the rest of the night. It was fun. Memories of joking and laughing with the girls would sometimes overpower the recollections of how fearful she’d been hours prior. And upon looking back, Gura could now choose to focus on that which made a once dreadful night somewhat wonderful.

Calli and Ina met with them a few days later and the situation was explained (this time with significantly less crying and shouting.) Everyone brainstormed ways to keep Gura’s -- now resurfacing -- predatory tendencies comfortably under control. The entire conversation made her feel very loved and incredibly warm inside.

Now in the present she lay sprawled on the couch alongside everyone’s favorite time traveling detective. They were flipping through TV channels looking for something to watch.

“It’s cold in here.” Gura whined. “How do surface folk deal with all this weather nonsense?”

Ame glanced curiously toward the grumbling shark. “Does it not get cold in Atlantis? Ain’t it like, at the bottom of the ocean?” Her question was tail ended by another adorable hiccup.

“Pfft, it’s a dome city.” Gura explained. “The temperature and junk is pretty much always regulated…” She paused, then shot Ame a toothy grin. “Forehead.”

“Takes one to know one,” Ame countered.

“Clever, Watson. You get that comeback from the schoolyard?”

“Yeah, the girl who gave it to me was about your size.”

 _Oh you have jokes do ya?_ Gura thought with a squint. “Detective,” she drawled with a devilish smirk, “If I wanted you to give me lip, my hand would be on my zipper.”

“I-” Amelia started to say something, a counter-comeback perhaps, but stopped as soon as she’d opened her mouth. Gura peeked to find the time traveler's face being consumed by a lovely shade of red. “Um… Good one… Gura..” She spoke slowly. Ame swiftly turned her attention to the TV screen with a wobbly smile and an _incredibly_ obvious blush.

Gura followed suit with burning cheeks of her own. _Shoot, shoot…_ She chided herself. _That was just a joke. For someone whose head is always in the gutter, she sure can’t take it like she dishes it. Ugh…_ She snuck another glance at Watson and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw the blonde staring back at her. “Uh—!” Gura sputtered, face more red than pale. “Nice weather we’re having, ain’t it?!” Almost as if she hadn’t been complaining about the weather not five minutes earlier.

Ame blinked, staring dumbly. She giggled. “Pfft, nice save Gura.”

“Y-yeah…”

Ame hummed, amused. Her cheeks were still tinged with an adorable crimson hue, but she seemingly regained her mental capacities as she continued their little game. “You still cold?”

“H-huh?” Came the predator’s flustered response. “Oh u-uh… Yeah, I guess?”

“Hehehe. So was your mom last night. Until I paid her a visit, that is.”

It was Gura’s turn to laugh. Face flushed and heart beating a tad faster than usual, Gura snickered at her friend’s antics. “Woooow, how original.” Gotta love a tried and true Amelia Watson mom joke.

“Yeah, yeah.” Amelia paused, scratching the back of her neck. “But uh, really though… Are you?”

Gura faltered. “Yes…? Why?”

“Er… Well uh…” Ame cleared her throat. Silently, she adjusted her position on the couch so that she laid with her back against the armrest. She parted her knees just so, and opened her arms in much the same way she had while comforting Gura that fateful night. “Want me to warm you up?”

 _She is going to be the death of me_ , Gura thought. She fumbled around in her brain for an appropriate response, however nothing came. She didn’t have any choice but to once again let her actions speak louder than words. She groaned, embarrassed. But moved into Ame’s cuddle nonetheless. She fit snugly between the Watson's thighs, and her torso came to rest against Ame’s own. It was, admittedly, quite warm.

“Better…?” Amelia asked. There was an obvious note of hopefulness in the cadence of her voice.

“Mhm…” Gura answered. “Thanks.”

They fell back into a comfortable quiet. Gura turned to look at the TV, though couldn’t focus at all on what was happening on screen. Her ear was pressed against Ame’s heartbeat and each calming _thump_ sent electricity down her spine. Her tail began to wag.

“Cute…” Watson mumbled.

“Huh?” Gura lifted her gaze but kept her ear firmly atop Ame’s heart.

“Oh. Did I say that aloud?”

Gura shrugged. “I didn’t quite catch whatcha said.”

“Just… talking to myself I guess.”

“Cool beans.”

Another beat of silence before the contentment on Ame’s face gave way to pensive hesitance. Gura noticed and kept her undivided attention on the younger girl. She waited patiently.

“Say Gura…” Ame started. Her eyebrows were furrowed and she failed to hold eye contact with her cuddle partner. Gura simply waited for Amelia to continue, which she did, after a brief period of pause. “Um… Have you had anymore uh, y’know… Shark-ish… _proclivities_ , since last week.”

“Oh.”

“We don’t have to talk about it,” Ame rushed to assure. “Just wondering I guess.”

“No, no it’s okay. Just…” Gura worried her lip between pointed teeth. “I dunno, it’s weird to talk about. Like, I know we had the whole talk but it’s still a little…”

“Yeah, I getcha.” Amelia answered. “You can tell me anything though.”

Gura’s lips curled gently at the corners in a delicate grin. “I know, Sunshine.” She sighed and looked away, “I mean… yeah, nothing as bad as the deer. I’ve thought about chewing on my arm a few times and like… I dunno, I was watching a movie and the blood got me feeling a little uh… aggro. But that’s about it.” It occurred to Gura that she still didn’t know why this was happening. And if she had to ask anyone, there _was_ a detective…“Why do you think this is happening?” She said. “Why now? It’s been so long since I’ve needed to hunt, and even then, it was pretty much isolated to fish and ocean prey.”

Amelia hummed curiously. She tapped her chin and clicked her tongue in a way she only did while she pondered. “I dunno. Maybe it’s just a coincidence? Or maybe you’re going through some sorta second shark puberty?” She glanced at Gura with a shit eating grin. “Not that you finished puberty the first time.”

“Oi—!” Gura lightly dug her fist into Ame’s shoulder. It was met with an infectious giggle.

“Hehe. But yeah, I could look into it if you want? Do a little investimagatorating.”

“What the fresh heck did you just say?”

“I-n-v-e-s-t-i-m-a-g-a-t-o-r-a-t-i-n-g.” Amelia answered all too eloquently. “It’s what detectives do.”

Gura sputtered. “You’re such a goof.”

Amelia nodded lightly. “You love it though.”

With those words, a face full of blush and a sudden realization, Gura’s heart skipped a dozen beats. Her shark brain finally registered that yes, yes she did love it. She loved Amelia Watson. Gura’s tail wagged ten fold as hard and she looked at Watson with, she assumed, pure adoration. 

“Yeah…” She whispered. “I guess I do.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading <33 I've been talking about this fic on Twitter (https://twitter.com/AShaaaaark ;D) so some of y'all already knew a bit of what this fic would be.
> 
> Tbh I've adopted Rinre's more tame version of Gura's instincts as my personal headcanon but like... the ANGST. I'm always a slut for good ol hurt/comfort lemme tell ya. Like... legit, that's probably a vast majority of everything I've ever written lmao.
> 
> I wanna keep writing amesame cause they're fucking ADORABLE and the lil cult following this pair has is generally quite excitable for new content, myself included. Between watching hours upon hours of Hololive, drawing, anime, and the like I really don't have much time for anything lmao. Thank god I graduated not too long ago.
> 
> Next amesame fic will proooaaaabably be fluff? Just to keep the balance y'know? But I have a good idea for a uuuhhh *ahem* spicy fic involving Ina so my next HoloEN story will probably be InAme. After that, amesame fluff... then maybe some Amelia angst? I LOVE KIARA AND CALLI TOO I WANNA WRITE FOR THEM BUT AME AND GURA JUST- Hnng they get my creative juices flowing.
> 
> Gosh this end note is getting long... UUUHHH thank you again for reading. Till next time ladies and gentlemen, meals and morsels. <3


End file.
